Gun of Ashes

This is an endless nightmare. No matter which door you push open, behind it is still an endless corridor that stretches forward continuously, with no end in sight.

The two of them are trapped in a vast labyrinth, desperately trying to find a way out by rushing about blindly.

The Secret Blood is surging and boiling, but Lorenzo is not using all his strength. This is unlike before, as he now carries Selyu, who is almost incapacitated.

Even after battling demons to this day, humanity still knows very little about them, only grasping an exceedingly superficial part.

In the records of the Demon Hunting Order, demons have no specific form. The appearances they show are diverse and strange, yet humanoid forms are the most common and the ones most demon hunters encounter regularly.

Of course, there are many demons with non-humanoid forms, each with different abilities and characteristics, like the plant-like Stomach Chewing Grass, and now, the Nightmare Illusion that Lorenzo is facing.

The Nightmare Illusion, more precisely, is an abnormal phenomenon, where humans within its range will be eroded, hallucinate, fall asleep, and then be transformed into demons within the dream.

The demon causing this abnormal phenomenon is called the Dream Builder, and only by killing it can this eerie illusion be ended.

”There’s no hunting dog, nor is there any curse, it’s just a demon at work.”

Lorenzo arrived at the conclusion directly.

Ordinary people wouldn’t know of the existence of demons, just like ignorant believers who blame all these ”abnormalities” on unknown gods and curses.

Selyu uttered meaningless sounds, wrapping her arms around Lorenzo’s neck, her breath somewhat rapid.

Lorenzo could feel the warmth of her breath coming from under his jaw. The girl was curled up in his arms like a small animal; it felt as though you picked up a cat in a snowy day, but the problem is that you and your cat cannot return to a warm house, and you are now likely to die in this illusory realm.

At this moment, Lorenzo cannot feel any sense of beauty, only immense anxiety and anger.

Although he is a demon hunter, Lorenzo has rarely encountered certain demons, like the Dream Builder that brings about the Nightmare Illusion.

Regarding this special demon, Lorenzo had only seen it in the Order’s records, aside from his encounter during the operation in Ende Town when he merely fell into a dream and did not experience this bizarre hallucination upon waking.

But now, the hallucination has surpassed the dream and reached reality, something not recorded in the books. To Lorenzo, this is unfamiliar and unusually troublesome.

Of course, this is not the most troublesome issue. With Lorenzo’s abilities, in this hallucination, at most the demons cannot kill him, but he also cannot find a way out.

However, the persistent erosion enveloping here could be fine for a Demon Hunter with Secret Blood, but it is different for the Selyu he holds in his arms. After the Florun Potion’s effect wears off, she becomes endangered.

”Stay awake, Selyu! Don’t fall asleep again, I only have one of those damn potions.”

He shook the girl forcefully, and she was squinting, looking drowsy.

This really is a difficult situation; he held Selyu and ran wildly on the endless road.

Lorenzo suddenly recalled that so-called world after death. It is also like this; powerless, no matter which direction you move, there’s no end, eternally trapped and struggling.

Upon reflection, it is truly sad, unable to find complete peace nor true release.

Selyu emitted a painful moan; she seemed unable to hold on much longer.

But before Lorenzo could do more, the sudden sound of barking erupted, a pair of crimson eyes were watching him intently at the end of the corridor, and then, with approaching steps, a hunting dog emerged from the darkness, exuding an unknown omen.

”Baskerville’s hunting dog...”

Lorenzo whispered the curse, tightening his grip on the sword in his hand.

Yet the hunting dog did not attack, merely watching him from afar, and then a cacophony resounded.

Something was coming with hurried calls and steps, like a flock of crows dancing wildly, covering this area. The sound grew increasingly fervent, coming from all around and eventually becoming a sharp tide.

It was the sound of barking; countless hunting dogs howling, their voices merging into a tidal wave.

In the endless corridor, all the doors simultaneously opened at this moment, all sounds became clear. Those were chaotic footsteps as hunting dogs rushed towards them, soon followed by an uncountable number of hunting dogs surging out from the rooms and heading for Lorenzo.

There was no way out, whether advancing or retreating, only countless hunting dogs were there. Lorenzo clutched the girl in his arms tightly, his thoughts spinning rapidly.

This differed from his understanding of the Nightmare Illusion. The dream was lifted, yet the hallucination persisted... or had Lorenzo never woken from the dream?

Lorenzo subconsciously gripped the Knight’s Sword in his hand. During his time with the Demon Hunting Order, he received training regarding dreams. As long as he was aware he was in a dream, leaving would be simple.

As long as he killed himself.

But he still harbored some hesitation: is this really a dream?

What is real, and what is illusion?

Lorenzo still remembered the hallucination he experienced when leaving the Perpetual Motion Pump. After exiting the demon’s [Gap], his consciousness was heavily battered, obviously not eroded but experiencing many hallucinations.

This led him to misjudge reality.

If this is a dream not yet escaped from, then Lorenzo only needs to kill himself to awaken... but what if it isn’t? What if this is actually an illusion within the real world? In this situation, killing himself would nearly drag him into an abyss.

Or is this... a double-layered dream?

The piercing cold swept over his body, rendering his blood chilly.

No, this isn’t right. The one who fell into the dream was Selyu; he directly encountered the current hallucination, or is it...

Lorenzo looked at Selyu in his arms; what if it was a dream from the start?

From the beginning, since the initial interaction with Selyu, Lorenzo has been trapped in a dream.

Indeed, at some unguarded moment, Lorenzo had already fallen into a dream, and everything happening now is an illusion.

But is the girl before him real or an illusion?

Lorenzo began to hesitate, reality and illusion blurred together, making it difficult for him to judge.

”Then let’s change our approach, Lorenzo, you can do this.”

Lorenzo muttered to himself, as if he could convince himself this way.

The hounds were getting closer, leaving Lorenzo with little time to decide.

So, what if it’s not a dream? What if the illusion is occurring in the real world?

This illusion can only alter his perception but cannot change real matter, which means the corridor is not endless as it seems; it has a limit. It’s only the illusion misleading his senses, and perhaps everything he just did was merely treading in place.

”Selyu, if this is it, live or die hinges on this moment.”

Lorenzo whispered.

Selyu did not respond, seeming feverish with a burning forehead.

The hounds had reached him, hundreds, thirsting for flesh.

Lorenzo could destroy the hounds with the rising Purifying Flame, but then he couldn’t protect Selyu in his arms, so he made a decision.

”I’ll kill you.”

Fiercely glaring at the hounds with red eyes at the end, the next second the Demon Hunter leapt out the window with the girl in his arms, the shattered glass slicing the world into countless pieces.

Beneath them was the endless abyss, and under the pull of gravity, they plummeted rapidly towards an unreachable bottom, until a few short seconds later, the Knight’s Sword drove fiercely into the unyielding ground.

Feeling the sensation from the sword’s tip, Lorenzo knew he had guessed correctly, it wasn’t a dream; the illusion was occurring in the real world,

everything was just the illusion misleading his perception, but it couldn’t modify real-world matter, it couldn’t warp space. In other words, the seemingly endless abyss was merely a backdrop wall, but overcoming the fear to leap down was indeed no easy feat.

Looking up, Lorenzo was already amidst the streets, the streetlights uniformly lighting up, the light diffusing in the slowly rising mist.

In the night sky, leviathan-like airships cruised lazily, steam slowly discharged, and indistinct figures still dotted the chilly streets, though they seemed to not notice Lorenzo.

Behind him was Stuart’s mansion, with one window clearly shattered—Lorenzo had just leapt from it.

There was no direct confrontation, just an instant judgment, followed by fear. What if Lorenzo had truly thought it was a dream and severed his neck himself?

He breathed heavily, followed by a visceral vigilance.

Lorenzo was doubting himself.

In that brief hesitation, he doubted the world’s reality, his judgment, and the authenticity of Selyu.

This is what’s most terrifying in the fight against Demons; self-doubt can cause cracks in the dam holding back fear, and those cracks could become Lorenzo’s fatal weakness.

”I am...”

Lorenzo repeated, as if it were some magical spell.

This was his Venus, a beacon keeping him lucid amid delusions.

”I am Lorenzo, Lorenzo Holmes.”

He repeated his name over and over, deepening the imprint again and again until a searing fire reignited in his gray-blue eyes.

”Lorenzo?”

Selyu lifted her head slowly, looking at the Demon Hunter before her, her gaze like water.

”Selyu, do you remember what you were doing the first time I met you?”

Lorenzo suddenly asked.

The girl paused slightly, seemingly not understanding why Lorenzo would suddenly ask this.

Then the Demon Hunter laughed, shaking his head uncontrollably.

”What a brilliant design...”

He looked down at the Knight’s Sword embedded in the ground, Lorenzo’s face reflected on its sharp blade, and in that mirrored world, someone stood just behind Lorenzo.

Medanzo, resembling Lorenzo in several aspects, smiled at Lorenzo as if the repeatedly recited spell had summoned him.

”So this isn’t a dream or an illusion, right?”

It’s not a dream, nor an illusion; it’s a more exquisite power, one Lorenzo does not yet understand.

He asked.

The Medanzo in the mirror nodded, the two faces slowly overlapped, indistinguishable, as if they were the same person.

Then the world collapsed.

The force originating from the Pseudo Holy Grail demolished every interference.

Cold snow swept over everything, including the girl in Lorenzo’s arms disappearing with it, leaving him standing in the cold tundra. A man sat on a bench looking at him, before even getting a chance to greet Lorenzo, the surging wave shattered the ice, engulfing Lorenzo whole.

Accompanied by the enduring, profound whale song from the ocean floor, the Gap consuming Lorenzo collapsed.